Many thanks

I think we’ve all said it before but here goes again, “What happened to the year?” Here we are at Thanksgiving time once again wondering if we accomplished all of those things or at least one or two of those things on our New Year’s resolution list or for some the proverbial ‘Bucket List’.

I only had one thing on a list and that was to retire. So I did but I’ve kept busy doing a lot of things but having the option to take a day or two during the week for leisure has been great. I know that there are a lot of people who have told me they wish they were retired. Remember there is a process and putting in the time to build up a retirement nest egg takes a lot of time and investment.

Honestly, I can’t imagine being retired any sooner than when I finally did. I enjoyed having a job and I enjoyed my career but it was time for someone else to enjoy it too. By the way, the only thing I actually did was quit my day job, I’m still doing everything else for as long as I can.

Last year at this time I was really bummed because my EWU Eagles weren’t invited to participate in the FCS playoffs. We had been to the playoffs so much and winning the National Championship in 2010 that I guess most Eagle fans took it for granted that we would get invited after losing only two conference games and finishing with a 7-4 record in what most likely was the toughest schedule in the country.

Here we are a year later and Montana State gets an invite with a 7-4 record, three of those losses coming in conference play. I’m happy that four Big Sky teams are going to the playoffs. I hope each team gives their best and represents the Big Sky with honor.

On Friday night, EWU took it to Portland State 74-23 in Portland. The Eagles scored 47 second half points to leave no doubt in the minds of the FCS playoff committee. And that is what Coach Aaron Best was hoping for. Eastern is the No. 3 seed, which should assure them of at least two home games in the playoffs as long as they win. I’ll be at Roos Field in Cheney on Dec. 1 cheering on the Eags!

Last year about this time when WSU played Arizona they were humbled by a very explosive Wildcat team in Tucson. The Cougars scored a lot of points that day but Arizona scored nearly 60. Last Saturday the Cougs scored 55 in the first half to keep Arizona wishing there was a running clock in order to get back to Tucson to feel the warmth of the desert. The final score was 69-28 in the Cougars 10th victory of the season. I’m sure there were a lot of Cougar fans that went to their motor homes at halftime to warm up and toast the victors early.

The ESPN camera crew spotted a few what appeared to be teenage boys who took off their shirts in the cold. None of them looked like they had been to the weight room lately. They seemed to be having fun and maybe showing the folks from Arizona how the folks in the northwest tan during the cold seasons. Hope none of them had frostbite on Sunday.

Whitworth University garnered their 10 win of the season with a 48-6 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates now travel to D-III power St. John’s of Minnesota. Whitworth is 10-0 this season.

So Whitworth is 10-0, WSU 10-1 and Eastern is 9-2. Pretty good year for our local teams and we thank them for their hard work and dedication. As fans we should be very grateful for seasons like this. Don’t take them for granted just appreciate them.